Controversial addition to the Grassroots Out rally, George Galloway, has ripped into the “childish” and “tabloid” BBC for asking him to come into studio to discuss the European Union, but then launching a personal ‘gotcha’ attack on him demanding he defend his appearance at the event.

Mr. Galloway was invited to appear on today’s Daily Politics show on BBC2, but alleges he was misled by producers. He told interviewer Jo Coburn:

“Not for the first time, you’ve misled me by asking me to come in and talk about the referendum but instead wanting to talk about me… If you had told me that I was coming in to discuss me, I would have said there are much bigger issues that the British public are occupied by than six, or however many voxpops you had.”

Mr. Galloway was the controversial “special guest” at Friday night’s Grassroots Out rally in Westminster. As Breitbart London reported his invitation to address Brexit activists led to a walkout from some members of the audience.

According to Nigel Farage the inclusion of Mr. Galloway was “a way to reach certain parts of the British public that no UKIPer, Tory, or even Kate Hoey-esque Labourite can reach” that “might not make everyone on stage or in the audience comfortable” but is nevertheless one way for the Leave campaign to reach certain people “especially since the long-standing anti-EU Jeremy Corbyn has been stifled by his union paymasters”.

Having tried to get back to subject of the referendum Mr. Galloway was again challenged to defend his appearance by Ms. Coburn. He refused to indulge the question, declaring:

“I don’t want to defend me at all. You’re not my judge, you’re not fit to be my judge.”

Ms. Coburn did not leave her line of questioning there, leading to Mr. Galloway describing it as “such childish discourse.” For him, the question of the European Union (EU) is “bigger than all issues” affecting “the lives, the future, of all of our people, for the rest of time.”

More than halfway through the interview Mr. Galloway was exasperated to note that he still had not been asked his opinion of the EU, at which point Ms. Coburn returned to the personal line of questioning. He said:

“Please stop this, please stop this. You misled me into coming in here today and every question you have asked has been about me. I’m campaigning amongst my one million followers on social media, on the radio, on television, on platforms, on the streets, for Britain to leave for a series of important reasons to which you have not yet turned.”

Challenged by the interviewer, “when have you ever not wanted to talk about you?”, Mr. Galloway replied:

“Because it’s so childish, it’s so tabloid, it’s so Daily Mail.”

Towards the end of the short interview he was able to state his case for Brexit, stating:

“I am convinced that Britain should leave. So is Boris Johnson for his own reasons, so is Nigel Farage for his own reasons… Because I believe in democracy.

“I believe that Britain should control its own events. Who comes into our country, who can be told to leave our country, what our foreign policy should be, what our economic policy should be, should be decided by the British people in a British parliament.